


Through the Looking Glass

by dearjayycee



Series: Ouroboros [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Growing Up, Harry owns a Snake, Severus Snape Adopts Harry Potter, future draco malfoy/harry potter - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-28 19:55:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12614240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearjayycee/pseuds/dearjayycee
Summary: With all the changes made to Hogwarts Harry's first year will be an adventure in friendship. But will he be able to deal with his father shunning him in public? Even if it is for his own good. And how will Voldemort screw up the end of year this time?





	Through the Looking Glass

**Author's Note:**

> This is the beginning of first year! You need to read Dawn before this or it will make absolutely no sense. I hope you enjoy :D and wow I do not know how to summaries. If anyone can make a better one I would love it.

Harry woke the day of his eleventh birthday before his alarm even went off. He jumped out of bed, tripping over his bedsheets as he did. Then running into the hallway and threw open the door of his dad’s bedroom before he launched himself into the large bed. Harry was lost immediately in a sea of black blankets the only thing letting him know he had hit his target was an elbow digging into his side.

  
“Dad! Dad! Get up! It’s my birthday! It's letter day!” Harry couldn’t control the volume of his voice and his father just groaned and pulled the blankets over his head and mumbled for him to go away. Harry just latched onto him harder and bear hugged the bundle under him. “Daddy~” he whined.

  
“Soooooonnnnn~” Snape whined back.

  
Harry couldn’t help but giggle before getting out of the bed. “Hurry! I’ll call for breakfast.” He raced out of the room and used the fireplace to contact the kitchen, Floofy answering and greeting him.

  
Soon both Harry and Severus were at the table eating fruit and oatmeal since they were headed to the Burrow for lunch today to celebrate and Molly’s food was worth saving the room. When they finished Harry was bouncing in his seat with excitement waiting for Dumbledore and McGonagall to come by with his acceptance letter. They had both promised to come after breakfast with it and to also say happy birthday.

  
“Relax brat or I won’t go get your present.” Snape commented as he finished the Daily Prophet.  
Harry stilled looking at his father in shock. Present... present, he thought. He held his breath, but he still felt like his magic was zipping through his body making him want to get up and run about until he could control it.

  
His dad stood up and then walked into his office, giving Harry a glare to make sure he stayed where he was. When he came out of the room, he was holding a cage which was covered with a cloth and since there was no noise coming for it he assumed it was silenced. Snape put the cage down on the table and lifted the cloth, revealing an all black snake that when the light hit its scales just so, it made them shine like a rainbow. His dad tapped the cage with his wand releasing the spell so that Harry could hear the snake talking.

  
“Where am I?” It sounded insecure and scared.

  
Harry want to reach out and clutch the snake to his chest. He knew Parseltongue was considered a dark gift by most but he had found that snakes, as a whole, were very nice. That and his father had sat him down and explained that while wizards could be light or dark, magic was magic and was shaped by magicals to be used for good or evil. “Hello, my name is Harry. This is my home.”

  
The snake reared back, and Harry didn’t know how but he knew that look on its face was shock. “... You speak hairless monkey?” Harry choked on air then explained why to his father when he looked worried.

  
“Ah… Yes, the ones that look like me are called humans.”  Harry explained trying not to burst into hysterical laughter, potentially scaring the snake.

  
“I see… How strange. Do all humans speak? Or were the ones that used to feed my nest bad eggs?” Harry couldn’t help himself, he giggled before answering.

  
“No, not all humans can speak to snakes, it’s a very rare gift.”

  
“Strange indeed. I think I will keep you then. Feed me and tell me I’m pretty.” Over the years and with all the snakes Harry had talked to he had realized that snakes, as a general rule, were all vain. But they did it in such an upfront manner that it was rather charming. Harry smiled at the thought of it before unlocking the door to the cage, allowing the snake to slither its way out and onto his arm.

  
“You are beautiful, may I ask what is your name?” And the snake was beautiful, easily manoeuvring himself around Harry’s arm to catch the best light. Allowing its body, which was about a foot long to slide from rainbow to pitch black in a hypnotic pattern, the muscles moving against Harry’s wrist only adding to the effect.

  
“I do not have one of those, my egg-layer said it was something my partner would give me. Will you give me one?” The snake seeming to grow more confident with the compliment it was given.

  
Harry made his way over to the couch so he could get comfortable. “I would love to, just give me a while to think of one.”

  
“Okay, Harry.”

  
Harry finally looked up to his father who was seated next to him and hugged him tightly. “Thank you so much, Dad! It’s beautiful, is it a boy or a girl? What kind of snake is it? What should I name it? What-”

  
Snape shushed him before answering questions. “It’s a boy, he is a three-month-old Ward Snake. Let me tell you a little about Ward Snakes to help you decide on a name, okay.” Harry nodded in agreement, still curled into his father’s side. “Ward Snakes are usually life companions. When Parseltongue was more prevalent almost everyone who had the gift owned one. This is because they live as long as their partner, living off of their magic. They have special powers that act as wards for their partner, and the closer you two become the stronger the wards become. They have become rarer since the decline of the language because Ward Snakes are extremely needy and are prone to depression. If they don’t have a partner or mate, they usually let themselves fade away. Because of this, there are few bred and those that are must be watched extremely closely until they find someone to live with who fits their needs. Now they are kept as statement pieces for their beauty and what it used to mean to own one.” Snape had gone into lecture mode and the only thing that showed his affection was the long fingers running through his thick hair. “There is one thing you should be wary of is that if he is worried he might be separated from you, he will bite you. It might hurt but it will strengthen your connection, giving your more protection temporarily.”

  
Harry nodded in understanding and knew his father had given him this snake both to have someone to talk to and to help keep him safe. He hugged into his dad harder, hiding his watery eye into the black cloak. “I love you, dad.”

  
“I love you too,” Severus kissed the crown of his head before relaxing them into the cushions.  
They stayed like that for a long time, Altor, the snake as they named him, curled on Harry’s lap. They broke apart when there was a knock at the door. Harry remember that today was letter day, and that it was probably Grandpa Dumbledore and Gran Minnie. He knew he would soon have to stop calling them that but for now, he would savour it.

  
They proudly produced the letter that was made from thick parchment with emerald ink decorating it. He broke the seal gently keeping it intact so that he could frame it. He opened it up with bated breath. It was everything he expected, and acceptance letter and list of supplies. It was honestly nothing special but to him, it was fantastic and symbolized a milestone in life and the measure of freedom that came with it.

  
After reading through the letter he jumped up and pulled both his Grandpa and Gran into a hug thanking them both immensely. When he pulled back, he realized that Altor was wrapped around his arm, tasting the air around the two and commenting on their smell. Lemon drops (though Altor just called it sickly sweet but still sour) and cats. Harry couldn’t help but laugh about it, sharing it with the two who chuckled.

  
Dumbledore gently scratched Al’s back and made sure Harry told him how handsome he was. “He is a smart man, keep him,” Al said making Dumbledore beam once translated.

  
The two left after Harry opened the presents from them, a set of animated socks and a few books from Dumbledore along with a box of chocolate frogs. McGonagall’s present was a new chess board that had magical creatures instead of people. Along with a leather-bound day planner and dairy. She had said that it was how his mother kept track of all her ideas and school work and since he would be starting school, she thought he might appreciate having one.

  
More than the item itself, though he loved it, Harry appreciated the sentiment and that it made him felt closer to his mother. Over the years Harry had learned a lot about his parents. But since they had unfortunately died young, at only twenty-one, as people their personalities weren’t fully developed, it was furthermore marred by the war that had overshadowed what would have been their formative years. Because of this what the professors of Hogwarts could tell him about his parent was either vague like James was great at Quidditch and transfiguration and Lily was a genius and one of the nicest students to grace Hogwarts. But other than that and Gran Minnie complaining about how much of a troublemaker James had been he didn’t know much else. There were small things people remembered at the strangest time. Things like James had an oral fixation (chewing on quills relentlessly) until his third year, or that Lily shook her leg during tests so much that during her NEWTS that the proctor had to silence her in case she was tapping some elaborate code.

  
Snape had, one Halloween when he was eight, told Harry that his mother had such a temper when pushed that her magic caused her hair to whip wildly around her as if she was some avenging angel. He had only seen it twice in his life. Once when Lucius had pushed her too far that she had snapped and punched him out cold. This had two main benefits, the Slytherins looked at her with both disgust and begrudging respect and that when in the library Narcissa would often sit with her in silence as they studied.

  
The other time Severus refused to talk about but he had assured Harry that it was both a vision of beauty and had scared him so much he could not look at her for weeks. Harry knew there was more to the story, but he also knew that even Dad mentioning that occurrence was more than he could ask for.

  
Harry held the planner to his chest, the leather still stiff but supple against his fingertips and he finally noticed the golden letters spelling out H.J. Potter. They soon left for the Burrow by floo, Altor hissing in anger when they arrived. “Human we will never be doing that again, or I shall bite you.” His coils wrapped so tightly around his wrist that his circulation was cut off.

  
“I am sorry but it the fastest and most common way for wizards to travel it would have taken all day to get her otherwise. We will have to do it again to get back. Next time I will leave you at home.” Harry said as he rubbed Al’s scales, wiping off the soot and trying to calm him.  
Altor hissed again, this time in rage that drifted into the snake equivalent of a sigh. “Since you are my human, I can’t let you go anywhere alone less you get yourself killed. And then who would feed me and appreciate my lovely scales.” Al sighed once more this time long and drawn out. “Fine but when I shed you shall be scratching at my scales until I am pleased. You will also give me offerings of juicy lizards.”

  
“Of course my dear,” Harry finally looked up to see Molly watching him with both weariness and interest. His father had warned him that the Parseltongue would upset most people when they first found out but anyone who really cared about him would get over it.  After a few more seconds Molly moved to hug them with her usual enthusiasm, sweeping them all into a hug. It was warm and loving and she didn’t flinch when Harry wrapped his arm with Al on it around her. As they walked further into the house, Molly calling out for the family to come from where they were she asked about his new friend and looked at his dad approvingly when Harry told her the species. Obviously, she knew Al would be a great protection to Harry and if they got close enough Harry’s close friends if within range.

  
If there was anything Harry knew about Molly, it was that she approved of anything that would protect her kids, and Harry loved being considered one of them. Soon everyone was gathered around a table, that was straining under the weight, loaded full of food. Charlie and Bill had come home for Harry’s birthday and Charlie and Percy were excitedly wondering if Harry could speak to Dragons since lore claimed Salazar Slytherin could. Bill, however, was telling Fred and George about how useful ward snakes were. Arthur and Snape were chatting about a snakeskin use in potions (Arthur had been an excellent potions student in his day). While Ron was holding Al in wonder at how his skin was not slimy at all but surprisingly soft with Ginny cooing over how beautiful he was with Harry translating, much to Al’s glee. After lunch, they moved out into the garden with a cake that Molly had lovingly made into the shape of a broom. It was wonderful as always and Harry once again wondered how she managed it. Then again people say practice made perfect and with a family of nine (and sometimes eleven), she sure had a lot of it.

  
It was wonderful and when they went up to play a game of Quidditch Al elected to stay next to Snape sunning himself on a rock. By the time dinner was served all the kids were worn out and starving. Next came presents, Molly and Arthur gifted a muggle music device that Arthur had enchanted to work with magic. Bill gifted books on warding and goblins while Charlie gave him a dragon scale necklace. Ever practical Percy gifted him a handsome set of auto-correcting fountain pens. From Fred and George, he received a box of joke products they had been working on. Ron gave him a cannons jersey and Ginny gifted him a cosy blanket. The blanket was uneven since it had been the first thing she had ever knit but the wool was ridiculously soft and would surely keep him warm. When he asked about it she had informed him that her mum had bought a pair of giant angora rabbits which unlike their non-magical counterparts their hair grew longer, faster, and was self-cleaning.

  
The Weasley's had a small farm that started when Harry had gifted the family with a few chickens when Molly had wistfully said she would love to have fresh eggs. They now had a few cows, sheep, and pigs as well as a now expanded herb and vegetable garden. While the Weasley land had had an orchard for generations they had, for some reason, never considered raising their own animals and growing their own vegetables. Severus had told Harry that it was most likely because almost all families ordered their food via owl order and never thought about how easy magic made it sustain a year-round farm that would care would cut down on food costs. Because of this, the Weasley's slow had saved up money to the point that they could now afford new clothes for their children since food had always been their biggest expense.

  
Harry and Snape left for the day, tired but with Harry still excited since tomorrow would be his first time in the open with Hagrid taking him for school supplies. He wouldn’t be meeting up with the Weasleys since it would draw too much attention and his father wanted him to try for anonymity until he was back safely within the Hogwarts wards. And if there was one thing that would draw attention was someone with black hair amongst the horde of  Weasley red hair.  
Despite his slight trepidation, Harry fell asleep before his head hit the pillow. Dreams of a magic-filled alley and a man too tall for most doors.


End file.
